Jayba Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I see you're from Edmonton... Could this be at the root of the issue? http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=38752 Nope. We beat that dead horse already. I would go with the dead animal, algae scrape ammonia theory. Has to be it. Or contaminated cleaning tools. Sorry about the loss Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatpuffer Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 do you remember putting anything on your hand or wrist...e.g. lotion, sanitizer? Sounds like you may have contaminated the tank. I had a similar incident when I had saltwater. I washed my hands but not up to my elbow and i use hand sanitizer at the hospital and lotion to my lower arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Ok, so after having a trouble shooting session with the guys at Aquarium Illusions we think it's copper poisoning. I hadn't thought anything of it but I added a half dose of a supplement (that I've used before but infrequently) that might have been sketchy. So lots of water changes, adding some Start Up and hoping for the best. Praying that the coral, snails, hermits and emerald crab pull through. Also writing an email to the supplement manufacturer. I'm somewhat less than impressed. They don't think it was H2S from the sand bed or anything, they said I'd need about 2 more inches of sand for it to be an issue. Also, no rotten egg smell. Heartache for my lost fish and inverts. So freaking sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Also writing an email to the supplement manufacturer. I'm somewhat less than impressed If able kindly name the supplement so that it will be known to others what not to use. Then to update your first post with your finding so that interested members won't have to scroll all the topic msgs to find the important answer. The loss is too bad but at least if info is gained...better than nothing gained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) So I'm mixing a bunch of new saltwater for the water changes and decided to test it. Sure enough, the ammonia is up in the tap water still/again. Looks like I'll be going through a butt load of Prime. Has anyone here used Seachem AmGuard? The stuff I used that we think is the culprit is Instant Ocean's Reef Accelerator. Edit- Feb 1- Day two of the massacre So the new saltwater I've been mixing STILL has ammonia in it. I used quite a lot of Prime and it's still crapola. Edited February 1, 2013 by kindasleepy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 And the wipe out continues. Corals melting, all the worms coming out of the sand and live rock., snails dying. Picked up some RO water but it's super cold so I'm warming it up and it's taking forever. Looks like after 5 months and 19 days, my tank is dying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 can you perhaps try a rescue rehome? make some good water...throw in what might still be living from the bad tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I don't have a big enough tank to put the liverock in I don't think but I can try to fit some of it. Right now it's trying to get the RO water warm, it's like, 60F right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 throw some on the stove and boil it. do a % like that and it should be fine within 30 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 See and now things are getting really weird. It's been maybe 6 hours since my last change. Water is milky, most of the coral excluding one hammer coral and one of my flower pots all are either completely closed or are melting in the case of my mushrooms. Did a water test: ammonia- 0 nitrite-0 nitrate-0 pH- 7.8 WHAT THE F*CK. I'm going to take it in to Aquarium Illusions tonight and have them test it. Maybe my kit is hooped? I use the Hagen master kit, it's relatively new (less than a year old). I also have strips for quick checks (I know they are wickedly inaccurate, especially for saltwater) but they're testing ammonia at 1.5, nitrites as 1, pH as 8.2. I am so freaking confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 it's best to talk with people in person...your idea is a good one. Hope they'll be able to help. Not sure if your bringing water to test or the entire tank...if just water perhaps bring a cup of your substrate too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Can they tell anything from the substrate? I'm not trudging the 35 gallon down there no, just a sample. :P Trying to get the ten gallon set up as quickly as possible to move some of the rock and coral out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 They can put part of your substrate into their 'clean' and 'known' water. After a short period they can test their water and see if your substrate has changed the water. This method can help identify the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Well, the guys at aquarium central are as confused as I am. Water testing spot on perfect now, but everything is still coming out of the sand and rock work to die. I guess we'll see how it goes and hope or some survivors. :boom: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Hagen test kit will give a false positive when testing for free ammonia (NH3) when one is using products such as Seachem Prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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